Til Death Do Us Part
by liliflowerxoxo
Summary: A new version of my old story. Takes place after the show. Kuzco is diagnosed with a brain tumor and Malina helps him get through it. This is basically their story about their ry AU and OOC. One of the Disney/One Last Wish series. (Read my profile for more info on the series)
1. Chapter 1

The headaches, the dizziness, the spinning. At first it didn't seem that bad. It was just from a lack of sleep, right? Now, Kuzco isn't so sure anymore. As the summer passed, the symptoms gradually worsened. At times it was so bad that he couldn't get out of bed. However, to his servants, there was nothing wrong with that. He was, after all, the emperor. And if he wanted to sleep in all day then so be it.

It was noon and Kuzco was still in bed. He attempted to get up hours ago but as soon as he tried to move his head, the room began spinning wildly. All he could do was lie still until the sensation stopped, which felt like forever.

Soon after the room went back to normal, he heard a light knock on the door. "What?" he complained under the covers. His head was killing him and the last thing he wanted was to hear another annoying rant from a lowly peasant. Then he looked up. It was Malina, his girlfriend. They officially started dating after graduation and so far things were going well between them. Kuzco opened his eyes and saw Malina standing next to his bed. It was clear that she was worried about him.

"That's it. You're seeing the royal doctor today." she said. Kuzco groaned and hid under the covers. "I mean it!" she said in a demanding tone. Then she pulled the covers off. Kuzco obeyed, but with difficulty. As soon as he tried to sit up, pain seized his head. Malina helped him get off and get dressed.

The appointment was set at 2:00. For the next few hours Kuzco had to wait and wait and wait. Several doctors came to him asking several questions, most of them asking the same old stuff over and over again.

_How long have you been experiencing these symptoms?_

_Do you have any allergies?_

_Do you take drugs or drink alcohol?_

Just when he though the questions were bad, the tests were worse. Especially the MRI, which he hated the most. For what felt like forever he was forced to lie perfectly still in a giant machine scanning his body. When he was finally done, he felt more tired than ever. Fortunately Malina was with him the whole time, which made the ordeal a bit easier to handle.

As soon as they were done, he went back to bed. Malina stayed with him until he fell asleep. Hours later, Kuzco was woken up by another terrible headache. He looked at the clock. It was evening. He continued to lie in bed, the doctor's visit completely wore him out. As he laid there, he began to wonder: _What is wrong with me? _

A week later, his symptoms persisted. Sometimes they even got worse. Kuzco anticipated and dreaded the phone call. _Maybe it's just nothing. What if it's something bad? Am I going to die?_ Kuzco tried to push all those thoughts out of his head. _There's no use worrying. No news is good news, right?_

He was deep in thought until a servant came to him with the royal phone. "Your highness," the young servant said, "The royal doctor wishes to speak with you." Kuzco took the phone, unsure of what to expect.

"Hello?" he said nervously. He hoped the doctor didn't notice. No one would want to be ruled by a nervous emperor.

"I have your MRI results, your highess."the doctor said in a serious tone. "I need you to come to my office as soon as you can."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is and again, sorry for the late update. I'm going to try to update all four stories around the same time next time. Enjoy!**

Kuzco woke up in a strange room. There were people all around him running around and whispering. Pain ran through his head, making him feel dizzy and nauseous. He tried to say something but couldn't. Then a nurse turned around and held his hand.

"It's going to be all right, your highness." she tried to tell him. Kuzco naively believed her.

He didn't remember what happened afterward. The royal doctor, who was thinner and had a full head of hair, showed the young Kuzco two pieces of paper. The pictures were brain scans. The doctor first showed him a scan of a normal brain. Then he showed the young emperor the scan of his brain. The difference was that there was a black mass on the lower part of the brain, the cerebellum.

It didn't take long for Kuzco to realize that something was wrong with him.

For the next six months he endured radiation treatment to shrink the tumor. The treatment worked and he went through surgery to remove it. After that, it was as if it never happened at all.

Then out of nowhere it decided to come back.

Kuzco barely heard what the doctor was saying. He wished that Malina was with him but she was babysitting some villager's kids. He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. There was no way that he was in reality. Maybe Yzma slipped something in his drink that made him think he was sick. She'd take any opportunity to throw him off the throne. But the thing was, she left the village months ago to take care of her mother. Maybe there was more to her story.

The tumor was gone. The doctors told him that it would never grow again. They did numerous tests to make sure that it didn't. And yet, over ten years later, the MRI results proved the opposite. Apparently the tumor was never gone, it was just dormant. Now it grew again, much larger than it had when he was first diagnosed. The thing was pressing against his cerebellum, which explained why he had so much trouble moving. When he was young they called it a low grade astrocytoma, whatever that meant. Now it was a high grade astrocytoma.

Kuzco shuddered at the thought of radiation treatments. He remembered having to sit still while a machine pointed directly to his head where the tumor was. He also hated how he felt afterwards. And now he had to do it all over again.

"Umm..your highness?" the royal doctor interrupted his thoughts, "Is everything all right"

Then Kuzco realized that he was on the floor with his hands over his ears shouting "la,la,la.." out loud.


	3. Chapter 3

"WAKE UP!"

Kuzco groaned and pulled the covers over his head. He was not in the mood for this. "No!" he moaned. He was just too weak to put up a fight. Especially with Malina.

After several unsuccessful tries, Malina finally gave up. _Well, that's a first,_ Kuzco thought. Then she sat down beside him and held him. Physical contact with the hottie-hot-hottie. That was enough to lighten his mood.

"You're really not feeling up to this, aren't you?" She asked while stroking his hair. Her mood instantly changed.

"Not at all." Today was the Festival of the Sun God. Kuzco had to wear some ceremonial outfit and do some ceremony thing while everyone praises him. Normally days like this would excite him but he really wasn't feeling it. Radiation and chemotherapy wore him out. His headaches were so bad that the royal doctor gave him some steroid medication that made him feel even more tired. Every day he felt sick to his stomach from the treatments and his hair fell off in patches. Thank the Sun God that his treatment was over and that in a few days he'd find out if the tumor was smaller.

"It's almost over."Malina tried to reassure him. "The royal doctor just told me that the tumor is getting smaller."

"What?!" Kuzco's eyes widened. "Since when did the royal doctor start giving out my personal information?"

"I'm your girlfriend, Kuzco. I really care about you." There was that word, girlfriend. They were officially dating. That kiss at the post graduation party confirmed it. Things were awkward at first but the two grew very close together. And now she was on his bed holding him. Just a year ago, she would have laughed at the idea of them being together. They were close friends, but a couple? Everyone kept telling him that she was way out of his league. Turned out that everyone was wrong.

"The village is gonna be disappointed that the ceremony won't go on today." Malina said, looking at him.

"I don't think the village wants to see a sick emperor."

Malina looked at him sadly and held him closer. More physical contact with the hottie-hot-hottie. If Kuzco wasn't so tired, he'd be enjoying it even more.

Then a knock on the door interrupted them. "Who is it?" Kuzco asked.

The door opened and Pacha appeared with Chicha, Chaca, Tipo, and Yupi. "Are we interrupting something?" Pacha asked. Chaca and Tipo tried to suppress their giggles.

"What's going on, Pacha?" Malina asked.

Pacha opened the door wider, revealing Kronk, Guaca, Yata, and Ramon. "We were thinking," Pacha began. "You've been through a lot in these past few months." He looked at Kuzco. "And clearly, you're in no shape to be a part of some big elaborate ceremony. So we decided," he gestured to the whole gang, "That instead of some big festival, we could throw a small party here since your treatment's over. We could throw a few ceremonial decorations here and there but the party is really going to be about you. I'm sure the Sun God won't mind taking a break for a year."

Kuzco and Malina didn't know what to say.

"I got the decorations!" Guaca said, pulling out a banner that says "Go Kuzco!"

"I planned the events." "Yata said, as if she was trying to outdo Guaca.

"I did the cooking." Kronk chimed in.

"We helped too!" The kids piped in.

"Well I did the guest list." Ramon said. "And found some nice hot dates for myself."

"All of this was mi-" Chicha gave Pacha a look, "Our idea."

The party was a blast. Kuzco didn't remember the last time he felt that great. He wasn't well enough to participate in most of the activities but he enjoyed watching them. Malina sat by him and once in a while someone would tease them.

"Kuzco and Malina sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Chaca sang as she jumped rope. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby tree. One! Two! Three..." By the time she finished the total was 500.

"Annnd the winner for the most jumps on a jump rope goooes toooo!" Guaca announced. He opened the scroll and read off the card, "The chimp and the bug with the rope!" The orchestra stopped suddenly. "Oops! Wrong one." He picked up another one and the orchestra started again. "Annndd the winner is...Chaca!"

The little girl jumped up and down as Kronk handed her the trophy, a miniature sculpture of the emperor. Then Guaca said, "And that concludes our talent show!"

"Are you sure you had nothing to do with this?" Kuzco asked Malina.

"Absolutely nothing." Malina said.

Then Pacha stepped up to the stage and picked up the mic. "Hey everyone." The applause died down and everyone looked at him. "I just wanted to say that it's been a great night having all of us together. Since all of you graduated, we all went our separate ways. Some going far, some staying near. Over the past few years we have grown close. I remember the last time we were all together at the post graduation party. It was bittersweet, seeing all of you grow up together and moving on to the next stage of your lives. Especially you, Kuzco. In the past few years you have become like a son to me. Sure we fight a bit, but what family doesn't?"

Kuzco didn't know what to say. Ever since they met on that fateful day, neither one of them knew how much their lives would change. For the first time ever, he had a father like figure. It touched him to hear that Pacha felt the same.

"And when we heard what you were going through," Pacha continued, "Well, we were surprised. But you pulled through. And now you're finished with that." The crowd applauded. "Sick or not, you're still our emperor and we wish you the best. Anything you want to say?"

Kronk hurried on stage to take the mic from Pacha to Kuzco. "Um...I...I don't know what to say..." _Think Kuzco! Think! _"Uh...thank you guys! I never thought you cared for me that much!"

"No problem, little guy." Kronk said.

"You can be a jerk sometimes, but hey, you're our jerk!" Yata said.

"I just came for the girls." Ramon said. He had one girl on each arm swooning over him.

"We have something for you!" Tipo hopped in, holding a book.

"It was the kids's idea." Chicha added.

Kuzco opened the book. It was full of pictures of him and the gang. From when he and Pacha first met, to his time at Kuzco Academy, and the summer after graduation before everything changed. Again Kuzco found himself speechless. This time however, he was getting a bit choked up, which was the last thing he wanted to be right now. "Thanks." was all he managed to say. Malina put her arm around him.

"Oh!" Kronk suddenly said. "Speaking of gifts..." He quickly ran out of the room. In an instant, he came back with a scroll. "It's from Yzma." Everyone casted a suspicious glance at him. "Don't worry. It's clean. There's nothing dangerous in there."

Kuzco hesitantly picked up the scroll. He opened it, expecting it to blow up or something.

_Heard you're sick. Oh well. See you in six months. - Yzma_

"Well, that was unexpected." Kuzco said as he read the message. Yzma had taken a year off to be with her mother, who had some bad accident with her wheelchair. She was fine but it was going to take a long time to recover. He wondered how she could have known, but she was there when it happened the first time. He put the scroll down and said, "Where were we? Oh yeah! We were talking about me!" Everyone laughed. It was a very long time since they heard that.

The party went on all night. Kuzco never recalled when was the last time he had that much energy. He went back to bed, feeling happier than ever. The chemo and radiation was behind him for good. Now he had to recover and things will be back to normal.

He missed the message by his Kuzco alarm clock about an urgent appointment by the royal doctor.

**A/N: And here it is! I'm just making up the story as I go along and my creativeness seems to be really on today so here's a long chapter. I'm sorry for the slow updates but I don't want to really rush into this. It's not easy, especially since I'm working on three other stories as well. I've been working on this series for years and I never really knew how to make it work. The whole party thing was entire unexpected and forgive me if the characters aren't accurate since it's been years since I've watched the show, so enjoy!**


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